jon: it's just been an awful morning. it started out with the early reports of a shooting, and we just did not know how bad this was but, again, the indications are that 26 people are dead, 18 of them children. the gunman we do know is dead, although there is talk of potentially a second gunman that police are still looking for. we are awaiting that news conference and perhaps we'll get some of those answers then. jenna: continuing coverage now on "america live." megyn: fox news alert on a developing situation, and there is devastation at this hour in connecticut as we await a police news conference on a deadly shooting at a connecticut elementary school. at a connecticut elementary school. sources are telling fox news the 26 people are dead at this time. eight adults, including the shooter, and 18 children. thank you for being with us on this important afternoon at

"america live." i am megyn kelly. looking live at sandy hook elementary school at newtown, connecticut. breaking children being led across a parking lot. an expression of terror been across the face of that one little girl in the blue shirt. the mother of the child called in to fox news. jenna: can you tell us what happened inside the school were your daughter was? >> she was in a small class, a reading group. they started hearing bangs and her teacher, which i am so grateful for, there was just a small group. they rushed the kids into the bathroom. they locked the door. they just told the children that it was hammering, and they tried to keep them calm. the next thing that i know, because it's very hard to get a

complete story, the next thing i know is that the police came and they were knocking on the door to be let out of the classroom. when they were, they stop laughing blood. one child was covered in blood. i understand that child is safe and was not hurt. it must have been somebody else. megyn: there is a lot of information coming into the newsroom at this hour. the news has evolved as we have learned more information. i would like to tell the viewers that we are still awaiting a the first news conference on this tragedy in connecticut. that will happen any moment now. it has been scheduled for 1:00 p.m. eastern time. it has been pushed back shortly as they get the officials in place. this even news organizations working to get the microphones set up. we are told it will happen momentarily. going live to trace gallagher at the news desk. reporter: we wanted to play this thing carefully. we have been getting the numbers

all morning long. police were holding this very close to the vest. we have now confirmed with the justice department that the numbers are horrifying. twenty-seven dead, including 18 children. eight adults, and the gunmen. it all begins to make sense. because even in the early going, the mayor and the police officers were saying that this could be from the early assessments, one of the worst shootings in connecticut history. now we know if the numbers hold up, this would be the worst shooting in connecticut history. the gunman, apparently, was in full camouflage. he was carrying two different guns. we heard throughout the morning with some of the witnesses heard up to 100 shots being fired. now you have these numbers. earlier there was a report, and this apparently happened in the kindergarten class. the kindergarten class was so far unaccounted for. we saw pictures of students being carried and shepherded out of the school toward the fire

station. some of the authorities and teachers telling the students to put their head down and went to the fire station and do not stop running until you get there. we heard early on that this may have been isolated to just be office. the gunman may have gone in the school, went to the office, and opened fire on a principle. we know that the vice principal was injured and we know that eight adults with some of them clearly were in. they were in the principal's office. the principal, vice principal and others, mostly female members of the staff. we do not yet know the breakdown of the kindergarten class. keep in mind, the school is in fairfield county. a very upscale community. all schools in fairfield county, i would know because my children went there at one time, it would be locked down at 9:30 a.m. to get into the school, you have to have visual identification. there are cameras out front as

well as before they buzzy when coming up to let them know who you are. the shooting reportedly happened 10 minutes after the doors were locked. it is unclear if the gunman came in before or after that. but during the morning announcements, we are told that is one they heard the shots being fired. again, up to 100 shots. now they are in the process of trying to notify families. police have not come out and said a single public word about the number. this is all coming from sources. our source happens to be the justice department giving us the numbers of 27 dead, including 18 children. again, not to panic. any parents who have children in the school district, we do not know yet where those children are located in the school. as we get more breaking news, and there is more to be gone, we will bring it to you throughout the broadcast. megyn: the hospital in dander, connecticut is on lockdown.

to protect the confidentiality of the patients, they say they have only treated three patients and don't anticipate any more being sent to the hospital at this time. the horrifying reality at this hour reminds me of what happened in new york city after 9/11, when they lined up outside of the hospital. reporter: you could even go back to what happened at columbine. or perhaps at georgia tech. you can see at one point in time, they were alluding to a triage, which is a standing operating procedure and they set up a red tarp and a yellow tarp and other tarps and they will bring the patients out and they will assess them as the need. the red is the most serious. the yellow is not so serious, and then you move on down the

line. we look at that tree are set up and there wasn't a single patient out there. at first, it seemed to be a good sign. now, as you go later on and you see going back to columbine and virginia tech, but that apparently was not a good sign. the fatalities were apparently in the office and in a certain classroom, but we though we don't know which classroom they were in. you kind of touched on how the whole town, all the schools on lockdown, there was a report earlier that police had surrounded a purple van that was in dander, which is just a few miles away. police had actually surrounded that ban, maybe our precaution, maybe someone else involved. we are still waiting to get that information from the authorities megyn: standby, we are going live to rick leventhal who is near the school at a park where the police will be holding a press conference. reporter: we are at a park that

is very close to sandy hook elementary. the police have not arrived yet for the news conference, but we hope to have a lot more of these questions answered when they do. i have heard from a federal source personally that the number dead with 26 or 27, and included 18 children, also included the principal of the school and the gunman. two gunmen were at the scene. a glock pistol and a nonmetal -- 9-millimeter gun. he was dressed in camouflage. police are saying that he -- but there isn't an active search for any more shooters at this time. there are security procedures in place for the door should have

been locked. anyone who wanted to enter the school after 9:30 p.m. would've had to be buzzed in and would've had to sign in when they got into the school itself. so we do not know how he got in, but we are told that this gunman may have killed as many as 26 people in the school, including up to 18 children. megyn: what is the status of the children? what is the status of the children at this hour? >> we were told that some parents were reunited with their children. the children will be -- megyn: standby, we have a parent on camera now. >> it started with the neighbors and so it is -- [inaudible]

>> [inaudible question] >> when it happened, you could hear the gunshots. so it was very upsetting and it is one of those things where we are trying to understand what is happening. it is going to make it much worse. >> [inaudible question] >> i do not know what happened outside of that. i do not have any information other than what people are speculating. megyn: that appeared to be one of the parents who have older children in the school. the children appeared to have escaped unharmed. i would like to get back to rick leventhal now.

hearing from one of the parents, where are the children? when they arrived at the school, they were told not to arrive. but many people came. where are they? >> they have set up an area of the local firehouse. as we understand, many were led out of the school. the teachers locked their doors when they heard the gunshots fired. minutes ago, we could see a lot of police officers blocking all the roads that lead where the school is located. that entire area has been locked. so the police have the area on lockdown. we know that they have the school on lockdown. we know that they did a room by room, search. they located the gunman and the children. and as far as we know, children have now been reunited with

their families. megyn: is there any information on this man's connection to the school? the shooter. we heard that this may have been the father of a student. have we heard anything from one person about that? >> i have not heard that from law enforcement yet. we do have one source suggesting the shooter may have been a young man, his young at 20 years old. we also have heard that he may live in new jersey and there may have been a separate situation there. a crime scene where they kicked down the door of the person's home. we are trying to confirm that at this hour. we don't know if that is true at this hour spume we are hearing that there are swat teams at this persons home, the possible shooter's home. we cannot confirm that yet the one i would like to ask you what

the status is at the school at this hour. they are not expecting any more victims to be brought to the connecticut hospital in danbury. twenty-six dead confirmed by fox news. we believe it is 26 people plus the gunman? we are getting different reports for the question is, do we believe that the victims are still in school. reporter: if you have that many victims located in the school, it is going to be a very long and very difficult and very grisly crime scene it has to be processed before anybody is our move. has to be carefully documented, photographs have to be taken. all victims have to be secured. then transported from the scene once the entire crime scene has been mapped out. that could take hours. you can expect a crime seen around the school for days. police will continue to keep

everyone out as they process this end are covered the victims inside the school. it will not be over quickly. megyn: one can only wonder what the parents of those who are not accounted for are going through. is there a holding place for them? do we know whether they are present on the scene at all? we haven't seen that as of late. reporter: our understanding is that everyone who is rushing towards sandy hook elementary was being stopped and redirected to the firehouse, possibly to other locations at this point. our understanding is that there are no parents now have the school itself. everyone has been moved away so that the police can do their job now processing the scene. any parent who may have children who were taken from the school,

at this point should have been reunited with those children. we imagine this will be a difficult day for everyone involved. megyn: there were reports earlier that were touched on of a possible accomplice. and there was some tape of police. these are the lucky ones, the parents who get to take their kids on today and explain to them why 18 of their classmates are dead. there were reports of a second person, perhaps an accomplice. we didn't hear much more about that. now we are getting more reports from other sources for that a second person may be in custody. have they said whether they believe that piece of the investigation is still open? >> what we had heard is that there was a potential second suspect. oftentimes after these major incidents, you have a lot of

reports that turn out to be false. a lot of times there is confusion in the midst of things and someone could be running from the scene. someone who may be escaping with their life. people could think that they are fleeing the scene because they are involved. we don't know. we are waiting for police to brief us and we have been told there's no active investigation or search for a second shooter. that could mean the they have party captured a second person if someone was involved. but we haven't confirmed that yet. megyn: we would like to tell our viewers that president obama was notified of the shooting at 1030 eastern time. the fbi and local enforcement on scene. he was asked for his reaction and jay carney said that he does not want to relay that until we know more about what has happened. honestly, the president has a father, so he feels enormous sympathy for the family and wants to do everything that he can to support state and local

law enforcement during this tragic event. jay carney was specifically asked about whether assault weapons bans, whether that remains the commitment of the president. and the answer was yes, it does remain a commitment of his. but today is not a day to engage in this kind of debate. reporter: we just got word that an entire entire classroom of students was not accounted for. we were told that you are in class -- would suggest that an entire kindergarten class was gunned down in this horrible incident. megyn: rick leventhal, we will come back to you in a moment. the reporting seems to be coming together from multiple sources. twenty-six people dead, including 18 children. an entire kindergarten class unaccounted for. a man wearing full camouflage.

black combat gear, and a military style vest went into a kindergarten classroom and opened fire with a clock and semi automatic 9-millimeter handgun. they said that 100 shots were fired. we have not yet confirmed any of this directly with the police. an entire kindergarten class is unaccounted for. we have bill dley now, what are your thoughts and we have heard so far? >> it is so much to absorb on so many different levels. among law enforcement standpoint, what they are doing right now as they go to through this, it has to be terrific. these parents and family are related and to go to one of these crime scenes is very emotional to them as they carry out their duties. one of the things we are hearing now is that there is potentially a second person.

we didn't know that there was a person that was carrying out this act. providing some kind of aiding and abetting to this individual who entered the school. we always ask why. the big why question. i'm sure they'll come out in time. right now, it is a crime scene that has now been put under control with the devastation that this person has left behind. it is up to the police we put together what happened. maybe even out the perpetrators home, which sounds like it could even be new jersey. what would this person to commit this act. it sounds very personal and very specific. what is the connection? there are even suggestions that may have been a father or a relative. these are all unconfirmed. there is a lot of information floating around at this time. i think the key thing here is that as they go through it, they want to make sure they have secured the site. there is a second person, like

we saw in aurora, colorado, then they will deal with that and take care of. megyn: on the phone with us now we have a mother of a student at sandy hook elementary school. thank you so much for being with us. how old is your child, and if he or she with you. >> my daughter is eight years old. she is in the next room. megyn: thank god. how did you hear the news this morning? >> we received a townwide call from the school board that there had been a shooting in the schools were on lockdown. but they did not say where the shooting was. because we have had an event like this happen before. there was a shooting near a school. it had nothing to do with the school, then i received a text alert on my phone that there was

a shooting at a school on dickinson. that is where my daughter goes to school. so i talked to the parents of a new and they said that there were children being carried out all bloodied. they thought they were dead. i went into total panic. i was numb. i grabbed my daughter and it was the happiest moment of my entire life. the happiest moment. but now being aware of the children that were killed, i am devastated. megyn: did you have the opportunity to see the other parents at the firehouse? >> i saw other parents and teachers and i talk to them. i asked what happened. another mother that i knew said she was in the school, and i said are your girls are right.

she said they are fine, but a masked gunman came in and started firing that the principle is dead. i said the principle is dead? this is a vivacious woman who loved children. she was the best principle, okay? it is just hard to believe. you do not expect it anywhere. it's terrible when it happens anywhere. but ucr quaint little downtown here in sandy hook, it is just crazy. megyn: your daughter is eight years old, how do you help her understand? >> she's right here, she's okay. they didn't know what was happening until they got into the firehouse. they realize that what was going on. but i still don't know my friends children, if they are okay. i try to call some people, they are not answering their phone.

megyn: what is the average class size in the elementary school? >> probably 16 or 17 students. a lot of students, but a small community school. megyn: when you hear children have died in a kindergarten class unaccounted for -- does that make sense to you in terms of numbers? >> yes, absolutely. megyn: pc the children and the community revolves around the schools. especially a country school to a large extent. how do you function? how do you go on from here? >> personally i feel guilty even talking to you and the other news outlets because i feel i should respect the families and those who were killed. i don't know if they are friends of mine were friends of my

daughters. -- i feel terrible. especially around christmas time. megyn: that is the thing. we are in the middle of, to an 11 date for christmas. >> exactly. megyn: it appears that we are waiting for official news conference about 26 the 26 people that are dead, including 18 children. had there been any reports of trouble? any parent making trouble? anyone -- you know, sometimes in a small community people are concerned about one person. >> no, not at all. nothing. in the school you have to bus yourself in. secretaries can see you. they buzz you in. i don't know what someone they recognize. then perhaps -- i don't think they would let someone in with mass. megyn: that is a good point. brenda, i think you so much and i'm happy for you that your

little girl is okay. >> thank you and goodbye the one bringing the latest, we are getting reports now. during the press conference may be delayed just a bit. obviously, they were supposed to start at 1:00 o'clock. we are told within the hour. we believe it is something soon. now we check in with trace gallagher. reporter: nbc news has just reported that there was a second shooter. we mentioned earlier that the purple van was surrounded in danbury, just a few miles away from sandy hook. now, we are being told that, in fact, there is a second gunman in custody. keep in mind, there are also

reports out there that one of the gunman walked in there that have military style camouflage as well as a full body armor, now there our reports about for weapons being involved. unclear if they are to weapons per shooter, earlier there were reports that someone had been pulled out by the woods near the school. that person was wearing camouflage pants. as soon as they pulled the man out of the woods, he turned to the police, and the parents that were there said i did not do it. so it is unclear if that man may be connected. we are working to confirm this. now, the reports are for two networks that there is a second shooter that has been taken into custody. megyn: going back to bill daley, what does that tell you? we are using the term second

shooter, that is what other news outlets are describing him as. >> you know, as much as there is a distinction there, we are talking about someone who appears to be complicit. they are suggesting that he was involved and he was sporting some fashion, we don't know whether he was in the building or not, there are single individuals have a certain event and focus of what they want to do. some kind of personal connection that drives them to commit these acts, whatever that connection is. in this case, i think that somebody who willingly went along and provided support, aided and abetted, if not committed the acts, is even more horrendous. megyn: i would like to bring you

the latest, this is from the associated press, which is now reporting law enforcement officials claim that this is a 20-year-old man, it was a 20-year-old man who was the shooter. again, from the associated press. with ties to connecticut school. officials saying that the gun used in the attacks is a .223 caliber rifle. again, new jersey state police are searching a place that they believe is connected to the shooting. if it is the home of the shooter, we do not know. bill, do you know what a .223 rifle is? >> it just tells me that this is something that someone could have acquired an in number of different stores. megyn: is this a shot on? >> is used for hunting and other purposes. it doesn't suggest it is what we heard. megyn: a semi automatic

9-millimeter glock -- >> yes, it would allow him to shoot rounds very quickly and be reloaded very quickly. megyn: we have had with the latest from the white house. reporter: at kearney, jay carney just wrapped up his speech. the shooting was taking place about 10:30 a.m. this morning. the bottom line is that jay carney is being careful. he is not getting ahead of the facts in this case. the federal government was working with state and local law enforcement officials to deal with the early stages of this investigation. he did not want to confirm anything in terms of numbers or how this shooting played out. he also did not want to get into how the president personally

reacted to this. clearly, you know that the president is a father himself and realizes the depth of the tragedy. the president is very likely to come out at some point this afternoon and addresses tragedy. megyn: is it possible that we will hear from the president himself drucker today? >> yes, it is very likely. i think having been to this before, where there has been tragedies like this, president bush, president obama, where they wait a little bit longer to figure out the facts and figure out how deep the tragedy is. once they have a better handle on that, jay carney said it was likely we would see the president come out. reporter: here is jay rney moments ago. >> at approximately 10:30 a.m. this morning in the oval office, the president was notified by his homeland security adviser john brennan of the shooting in newtown, connecticut. at an elementary school. the president has been receiving

more updates about this incident. as the day perceives, as we get more information, we will certainly provide it to you. megyn: we will get back to you as news warrants. fox news has confirmed that the shooter is a 20-year-old man. a 20-year-old man we do not know whether he had a child and that's cool. we were told it was catered for. kindergarten usually around five years old. that doesn't mean that he couldn't be the father of a student there. it does seem a little young, but we don't know enough right now. we are being told the press conference is expected within the next 40 minutes and we will get the first briefing we have had from the people who actually know what happened. the least better than nothing. now we have dr. keith ablow, he joins me via skype.

we really need to hear from him today. everyone out there is feeling disconcerted and sat and stared. wondering if this is the society that we live in, fearing for the parents of little children. can you help put it into any sort of perspective for us? >> as to the fear and the shock, i understand. the red line, beyond which even the bravest were unhinged among us, this, kindergartners, a classroom perhaps of them, they are unaccounted for. perhaps gone. this kind of shock resonates with people because it seems like the unthinkable keeps on moving into the sphere of our reality. i think people have to reach out to their kids. they have to tell them that in terms of the probability of it

happening to them, it is rare. also, they should be told that these things don't come out as bogeyman. these are sick and depraved people. but there are ways that they can be identified sooner and we will work to find the ways and we should work to rebuild our mental health care system. in the end, there will be things that this person said that folks and there will be things that people shake their heads out and say, how did they not act on that? we are really not prepared to act on that. the system in the mental health care arena is so full of holes. so fragmented and fragile. so underfunded. so i think there should be a wake-up call to rebuild that. and then we should let children help other kids. we should give them something to do with their grief and fear to reach out to these other families. these other families and kids, and do something to try to

reassure them and show them that they care. megyn: yes, trying to empower them in some way area to talk about the red lines. it is well put. even though you know there is depravity and evil in the society, you'd like to believe that there are lines that just don't get cross. is there reason to believe that? a sociopath has no empathy. there is no feeling at all. the real question is why have there not been more things like this in the past, and what is making them seem to come out now >> well, you and i have spoken about this before both on and off the air. just as a culture and society, is being diminished by things like reality tv and facebook. taking people to a fictional rome. i guess you could add computer

games to that. now people feel less for one another. they can think of them almost as third parties or entertainment figures were animated creatures. for the people among us who are vulnerable to acts of violence, those who are violently ill, if you will, that means that they can consider others even less than ever before. so in general, our capacity to resonate with each other stealing is being reduced, as i believe it is. the outliers are that much less able to feel anything. that red line will keep shifting. sadly, presidents is a terrible thing for people who are inclined towards violence. what it does is move the bar. once you have had one shooting in a kindergarten, and i hate to even say it, and yet as a scientist i know it, there could be others. megyn: people have to remember what he said at the top. statistically the odds of

something like this happening to a child or your family are very rare. you think of the number of students to go to school everyday and have for decades in this country, and then a tragedy like this has unfolded. i do want to ask you if there is anyway of moving forward for these families? everyone here is feeling for these families. families of all 26 kids dead. twenty-seven total, if you count the gunman. eighteen of whom are children. i know you say give children help, and of the mothers and fathers and sisters and brothers of those children. how would you wake up tomorrow? how would you have your breakfast and function in this world? >> well, that's the best thing, by the way, you can tell them. that is what i would tell them in this office. i cannot fathom the depth of your grief. i give you credit for your

courage. i think that somewhere out of your incredible wound can come extraordinary sensitivity, such that you would be an incredible gift to other people might. yet i hesitate to even ask that. knowing now how much they are suffering, and i know that it's possible. but i don't pretend to know everything that you are feeling, and i invite you to tell me. please tell me, because silence is the enemy of healing. megyn: you know, sadly we have 17 other families of children that need to be comforted. not to diminish the reports of the deceased adults. we heard one mother's testimony about a young vibrant woman. so oftentimes the adults and victims get overlooked. each loss is profound. the odds are those dead adults

have families as well. please don't go away, doctor, we need you. there is a lot of information that will be coming out as well. we still have the leeway here and i would like to get live to trace gallagher as well. he has a new news development. a home that is being searched near the shooting scene. reporter: >> we do know, in fact, they have confirmed that a second person is being questioned. we do not yet know if that person has been taken into custody or arrested. that certainly has been questioned. there are reports that it was, in fact, the man, who we said earlier was brought out of the wooded area by the school and then turned to a parent and, i did not do it. that is a person who is being

questioned. no word if he is a suspect or a person of interest. on top of that, as he said, there is no home reportedly being searched in newtown. that home being searched, authorities say is connected to this shooting. again, we talked about a purple van being surrounded earlier by authorities. we have not heard anything else about that. we are getting more information about the chain of events. apparently what happened is the shooter went into the principal's office first. when the shooting happened, the morning announcements were underway, and apparently the rest of the school could hear the violence in the shooting over the school intercom. as you said as far as class size, we have confirmed that there are two kindergarten classes at sandy hook elementary school. both of those classes have 17 students each in there. we know that children have been killed.

the numbers apparently are very much in sync, and an entire kindergarten class remains unaccounted for. megyn: trace gallagher, thank you. bring you this information from washington. two sources saying, which is not unexpected, this is not to believe it the terrorism is going on in this country -- clearly it is terrorism of some kind. it was not terrorism by some to hottest group. we will try to get more information on that. that is what we are talking about. fox news has confirmed that a 20-year-old gunman initial reports said that he went into the administration office and then he went directly to a kindergarten. as we await the official word, is that he walked into a

kindergarten classroom and took out two or four or weapons. yet a military style vest on and started shooting. reporter: let's go to the press and listen. megyn: they are just testing a microphone. we are going to get the information shortly. megyn: we will pause for one moment when a fox news stations join us now. this is coverage of the deadly shooting coverage in connecticut. we are now getting our first briefing reading from the officials on scene. let's listen. >> we would like to get information as quickly as possible. the governor's chief concern is making sure that the families have information as quickly as possible.

that is where he is now. this is lieutenant paul dans from the stately. >> thank you. we will set up regular press briefings as appropriate. just after 9:30 a.m. this morning, newtown police received a 911 call for an emergency at the elementary school. the newtown pd, we contacted the connecticut state police and surrounding local police departments. on an off-duty troopers responded to the school. and newtown police, immediately upon arrival, enter the school and began a complete active shooter search of the building. that included checking every door, every crack and crevice and portion of the school. the main objective was to evacuate as quickly and efficiently as possible. any and all students, and faculty in the school. the entire school was searched.

the staging area was set up. the students and staff were put into that staging area. soon thereafter, the children and staff are we united with her parents and loved ones. there were several fatalities at the scene. both students and staff. there is no information relative to that. the shooter is deceased inside the building. there is a great deal of work that is undertaken immediately upon locating the shooter, and that is there is a great deal of search one activity, a great deal of law enforcement activity, both in and out of state to make sure that we cover all the bases relative to the specific individual. suffice it to say, the scene is secure. state police and the newtown police department and danbury beauty are working to answer the questions about what happened. as was said, we will keep you

breathed and informed on a regular basis. we will put everything out via our website with these press conferences. i turn it back over now. >> the governor to call from president obama, a little while ago, he called to his express his condolences on behalf of the nation and himself. he pledged whatever resources the federal government can bring to bear to assist the families and the investigation. we will get you information as soon as we can get the families the information. that is where the governor is. at some point later today the governor will be here and we will set up regular briefings. thank you. [inaudible conversations] >> again, no questions at this time. i apologize or it we are not able to answer any questions. the scene and secure. the situation is secure. we will notify you shortly when we come back for another briefing. as quickly as we can.

megyn: precious little information coming from the scene of a devastating school shooting in newtown, connecticut, where authorities confirm there have been several fatalities, including students and staff at the sandy hook elementary school this morning. the distress call came in shortly after 9:00 a.m. eastern time. they did confirm that the shooter is deceased and the building. we are working to track down records of a second suspect somehow involved in this. we believe is being questioned by law enforcement on a second location. we are trying to track that down to confirm exactly what, if any role, that person the economist. you heard the law enforcement officer there, lieutenant paul davis said that they do not believe the public is in danger. but that they are pursuing are

torn activity and law enforcement activity in and out of the state. at this hour, we have confirmed independently that 27 people are dead, including the gunman. twenty-six victims, 18 people of whom are children. we believe the vast majority, if not all of them were in a kindergarten class inside of the elementary school. a 20-year-old man, fox news has confirmed, went into the school and started shooting at least two weapons, which we were told were semi- automatic handguns, including a 9-millimeter and a glock. we will give you more information for continuing coverage. i am megyn kelly in new york. megyn: giving life to break leventhal.

the shooter remains inside the school that is deceased? reporter: the other key point, the public not in danger. they would not address -- i asked about a second suspect in custody, you heard the state police would not confirm that. we are being told by other sources that a person is being questioned by authorities here in connecticut. we are told this person has not been arrested or taken into custody at. it could be someone they are concerned is connected, but may not be. there are a number of law enforcement activities taking place right now, including search warrants being served on homes. we are told that one of those homes may be in connecticut. another might be in new jersey. we are also told that the shooter has been identified as a 20-year-old male. the police would not get into the numbers. but we have to remember that we are roughly four hours since this mass shooting occurred.

there's a lot that is still not put together yet. very early in the investigation. as we said earlier, crime scene is very difficult at this point for them to process. there are so many victims. the police would not confirm the number, but we have been told by multiple sources, including federal agents, that there may be as many as 27 people dead. that includes possibly 18 children. eight adults and the shooter, as well as the principal of the sandy hook ohman preschool. megyn: thank you, rick. we will get back to you momentarily. one of the worst shootings in u.s. history. thirty-two people dead at virginia tech, now we are being told that the number is 26 victims plus the shooter, and makes 27. at the sandy hook elementary school. in connection with this case. preliminary numbers as we continue to await official confirmation from those who are on the scene. you can understand why they don't want to give too many details at this time. i'm sure there are a lot of

families going through a lot right now and trying to figure out whether their child is among the dead. bill daley is back with me. the fbi is now assisting the local on enforcement with this for the white house. what did you pick up on a? >> as much as we'd all like to get more information with details, i think the way they approach this is not to be too much ahead of the curve. to notify the next of kin, understand what is happening before they say anything. from our standpoint, we are wondering what else is going on. it is quite inspiring that within a few hours, but they move very quickly on a number of different fronts. they're probably getting subpoenas. the fbi is insisting that local law enforcement goes across state lines. in an effort to get more information about this individual, or another individual that they are

questioning. the lieutenant who was speaking, it may not mean that it is certainly -- you know, a fact -- but he did not say that they confronted the gunman when going into school. so suggesting that the gunman was already deceased when he went into the school. as he went through his walk-through of what they did room by room in gathering the children and staff and taking them to a safe area to get him out of school. i don't know whether that tells us something about your gunman having taken his own life, but as we hear more about it, this gunman went into the school and there was no way to stop them. they had some clues. we don't know. but the shooter was in there for a period of time. he was with automatic weapons and he fired on children and

staff. megyn: i know you are not a psychiatrist, but you have been in law enforcement long time. have you start to understand how someone puts on a military style dress and takes at least two semiautomatic handguns and those in their and starts executing 5-year-old? >> you know, in law-enforcement, you have to take a step back. megyn: how do you understand it though? have you understand that? have you seen something like that? is it just a sociopath? someone who can take a life -- that is who they are? in your history, how do you understand that kind of evil? the amount the thing is that you can't. there are good and evil and people have chosen evil. this is evil incarnate. that is why the good people come to people who up for what is right and good, supporting each

other, looking after each other, they are the ones that are good. evil is always there, and that is why we have law enforcement and teachers and other people out there trying to identify people before it hurts our children. sometimes that people doesn't catch everyone. and it isn't as solid as we would like to be. but we know that as a result of this, people need to go off and do good things. continuing to do good things to help each other and society. otherwise people will take over. megyn: stand by for just a moment. joining us now is a mother who lost her child. her daughter, rachel, and the columbine shooting. her son survive. beth, thank you for being here. we need your perspective as well today. what are your thoughts as we wonder what the parents are going to? >> well, my first reaction is i'm extremely angry. so angry. angry that a man would kill babies. and these are just little

babies. as far as the periscope, they are not going to know what to do for a long time. with the columbine shooting, my son craig survived but rachel did not. it was like there were times when it was real, and other times it wasn't and you kind of block out the pain of that. the anguish of that. or at least a year or possibly more, there were times when i was just going through the motions of having lost rachel. also having to deal with a very emotionally crippled young man, because this gentleman witness all of the violence. and then his sister was the first one that was killed. my heart races. i just feel that these parents

-- they are going to hurt so bad for so long and there's there is not much you can do to console them. losing a little child like this, it makes me very angry. it makes me extremely angry [crying] megyn: in the same way that your daughter and son were totally defenseless, these children were totally defenseless. the most defenseless you could find on this earth. we are told that there are 26 innocent victims in all of this. including the 18 children. did you find peace? >> we did, but it came much later. but there does come a day when you don't cry all day long. there does come a day when the

severe pain and loss isn't self-evident. it's not so penetrating. but it takes a long time to get to that point. i would like to offer hope that right now these parents can't imagine hope. all they understand is that, hamas. even though people believe that things will get better. the truth is that is not reality to them at this point in time. it won't be a reality for a very long time. because you can't get past the pain. it took years to get there, there came a day when i laughed again and talking about rachel, i could talk about her without bursting into tears or had a flood of emotions come out. and we found some good things to do. we have channeled our energy and

anger for what has happened. and we did our best to be positive and we were able to take racial legacy and use it for something very positive. which did bring forth healing. these children are too little. too little to have anything like that. the birthdays and their moments -- the little children. it is going to be extremely difficult. my heart is broken for them. it is just broken. i wish i could help them, but there is no shortcut. no shortcut into something of this nature's. megyn: if there is anyone who can do something, maybe it's something like you. someone who has walked through the pain, as they say. columbine happened almost 13 years ago, peace and happiness

is at least possible. for the victims of these families of this tragedy. thank you for being with us. there is a lot of news unfolding. we are getting details about the gunman right now. we expect to learn shortly who is wise. we will be back momentarily with an update and more on that. this is america. we don't let frequent heartburn come between us and what we love. so if you're one of them people who gets heartburn and then treats day afr day...

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megyn: fox news alert. chaos and fear and heartbreak at an elementary school in connecticut when a gunman walks into the building and opens fire we believe on a kindergarten class, leaving we believe ,

leaving 26 people dead including 18 children. it's the worst shooting tragedy ever in the state of connecticut and the second worst in u.s. history. it all happened just after 9:30 a.m. at the sandy hook elementary school in newtown, connecticut just after classes got underway. fox news confirming the shooter was a 20-year-old man with ties to the school. he was reportedly dressed in black combat gear with a military vest and hat multiple guns between 2 and 4. a s.w.a.t. team among the throngs to respond to the school. all of this less than two weeks before christmas and in the middle of hanukkah. here is lieutenant paul vance of the connecticut state police department moment ago. >> i can give you basic and

grief information as we know it now. we'll set up regular press briefings as appropriate. just after 9:30 this morning newtown police received a 911 call for an emergency at the elementary school. after obtaining information we contacted the state police and surrounding police departments. troopers responded to the school and newtown police immediately upon arrival entered the school and began a complete active shooter search of the building. that included checking every door,er crack, crevice and portion offed the school, our objective was to evacuate any and all students and faculty in the school. entire school was searched. that was accomplished. the staging area was set up. the students and staff were put into that staging area and soon after the children and staff were reunited with their staff and loved ones.

there were several fatality at the scene. both student and staff. there is no information relative to that that being released at this time until we made complete proper notification. the short is deceased inside the building. there is a great deal of work undertaken immediately upon locate can the shooter. there is a great deal of search warrant activity to insure we cover all the bases relative to that specific individual. suffice it to say the scene is secure. state police major crime squad, newtown police department, the state's attorney and many agencies are working together to answer all the questions around what happened. we'll keep you briefed and keep you informed on a regular basis. we'll put everything out. via our web site, and with these press conferences. megyn: that was the last update we had.

rick leventhal is live at a park near the school. >> reporter: immediately after that i asked the officer whether he had any information on a second shooter, a possible accomplice who might be in custody and he would not go into it. he said second address that. but he did say the public was not in danger. they are questioning that person is in custody and that person has not been confirmed as being related to this shooting. we are hearing other sources which are the numbers which are horrific. 27 dead, apparently 18 of them children. an entire kindergarten class unaccounted for. the classes run in size from 17-18 children. a gunman walked into this elementary school and opened fire on a kindergarten class and killed a number of teachers. we are told the principal as well before apparently killing himself. we know the entire neighborhood has been shut down around sandy

hook elementary school. police are blocking the roads. they reunited parents with the children in the school and there are 600 kids inside that school who attend that school on a daily basis. neighborhood shut down. the school on lockdown. the rooms have been searched but there is a major crime scene that must be processed. bodies in the school. die grams and photographs that must be taken before that scene will be cleared. we are look at a lengthy process, perhaps days. we are waiting for further updates from the police here at this park close to the school. but we can't get anywhere near to it bring you any more information about what's happening inside those walls. >> we are getting more information on the wires here in studio. and none of it is good. joining me now mark fuhrman, a former l.a.p.d. police detective and fox news contributor. talk to me about how the police

are supposed to process this crime scene. >> as difficult as it is, these men and women have to process the most horrendous scene where children are the recipient of adult violence. it's tragic but they have to go through it. so when you look at this scene, certainly now you have the homicide of 26 people and the suicide of one, you have to process this scene for the weapons for the suspect. you have to look at certainly we are talking about the weapons. so you have to know what casings from these semi-automatic weapons are on the floor, how many calibers we are dealing with. you have to account for the weapons. i heard you report there was a 223 supposedly used. if that is the case, there would be rifle casings on the floor. megyn: what is that?

>> it's an ar platform. it's a caliber of a rifle round it's most predominantly in a type of military -- para military platform. most people generically call them assault weapons. it's a semi-automatic weapons. i'm not sure they make any platform other than pistols. i don't believe they do. if there are three or four weapons all accounted for, then you could assume or at least start to speculate that one person had all four weapons. were they in his possession. were they in close proximity to his body? two suspects -- if one suspect is gone and they didn't flee on foot, there would be a vehicle missing. there should be a vehicle that the suspect transported himself to the location. it should still be there. they will account for that.

but the process of the scene is a homicide and we don't know at a later time -- is there a conspiracy to commit this act? what is the motive of this act? does it pertain to, involve other people that actually supplied this man with anything and they knew this act was actually going to take place? in other words, a conspiracy. so the investigation and the processing of the scene has to be done correctly and it will take 2-3 days and there will have to be a task force set up because you can't expect one detective or one team to stay up for 2 or 3 days. they will get ragged and they will make mistakes. so this will take some time. it will be emotionally taxing on everybody that's inside that school. megyn: i want you to stand by for just a minute. i'm told trace gallagher has

breaking news and is following information regarding the home that was searched. is that the case, trace? >> reporter: we talked about this home being searched. we had no idea what connection it was to the school shooter. now one of the locals is reporting that there was a body that was found inside that home in newtown and they are investigating whether it might be -- and again we say might be -- none of this has been confirmed -- the body of the mother of the shooter. we said there was a second person of interest who was being questioned by police. we have no word if that person has been arrested or taken into custody. simply being questioned. that would if you are connecting the dots eliminate that person as being connected to this new town, connecticut home. reports are that a body was found inside this home and it may have been the mother of the shooter. again we are going by local

reports. so we want to make sure that very clear. top add one more exclamation point. a car being used? we knew earlier a car was cordoned off at the entrance to the school. it had been taped off. unclear if that was the car of the shooter, about it was park the right directly in front of the exit and entrance to this elementary school. megyn: keep work our sources and bring us the information as you get it. we now confirmed the it was a 20-year-old are getting informa, there are reports about this identity. we are not going to go with that until we know for sure the identity of the shooter. but i want to ask you, mark. we confirmed it's a 20-year-old man. earlier this week we saw a mass shooting -- an attempted mass shooting, two people dead at a mall out in the portland, oregon area. that was a 22-year-old shooter.

what's going on? >> i'm certainly not equipped to tell you psychologically what's going on. i never quite understood most crimes on the street. but when you look at this you will be able to go backwards. when trace gallagher was reporting about finding a body at that home, possibly the mother of the shooter, that was not a surprise to me. i suspected they would find a relative, a girlfriend or wife at that location. certainly the first thing they do is try to secure the suspect's locations, do search warrant and try to circle the wagons around any possibility of something that would continue or to collect evidence. but when you look at these shootings, you kind of wonder what is the cause? and i know people are going to say guns. but that's not the issue. it's the people -- we watched this nation be brought to it's s

its knees by men with box cutters. that not the issue. it's the people. to be candid. i can couple with nothing short of mental illness that would lead somebody to think they were going to prove something. or accomplish something except for immortality in the most black and bizarre and macabre way. megyn: the extreme cowardice of a military vest and combat gear to go in and execute a couple of dozen 5-year-olds. there is no one who can help us understand that. but just the sheer illness and cowardice of it. >> one more thing, megyn. when you hear that he had already killed or most probably killed his mother at a location

that he probably left from this morning, he knew that he was never coming back. an what else just -- megyn: before you finish that thought we are told we believe this video is the police outside of the home where we believe this woman's body was found. initial reports are that it may be a woman linked to the gunman, possibly the mother. all unconfirmed. go ahead, mark. >> you just look at this. he was -- he was tidying up his mentally disturbed life. he killed a person at the residence that he was either related to or stayed at. he was never coming back there. he was never leaving this crime scene. whether he was shot by the police or he totally and absolutely always intebledded to take his own life. you ask about what is going on. i see one thing we have people that are going to commit suicide

that somehow want to be less anonymous in the realm of suicide and more famous in the area of homicide. i don't understand it. i never understood it. but it is the fact that this is the society we live in now. megyn: mark, thank you. dr. ablow will be back with us in just a bit. we are going to check back in with him. but i want to get to an expert on school security. bob, thank you for being here. your thoughts on what we have seen. >> how do you prepare for something like this? aas much as we are in schools around the world, we set up protocol. you look at the relationship between the police department and the school. you look at the crime statistics in the neighborhood. you look at your parents who have domestic violence issues. these are part of a good

scenario to build a preventative program. but when you see something like this, this is almost impossible to prevent. megyn: they had security in place. i know you have done security for connecticut schools. they had a security system where you had to be buzzed in. they had to see you on the camera before you get into the school. we are told the shooter had quote ties to the school. i don't know what that means but something failed. >> that's why you have a close relationship with your psychiatrist and local police department. because you want to know if there is a domestic violence situation in town. the school and the police have to work with each other in order to respond. it is something the police are aware of. we don't know here yet what the case is. megyn: but the odds of this guy having behaved completely normally and not having had any

red flags prior to this day -- >> they are slim. there has got to be some issues here. the police are looking through his facebook and telephone calls. they are look at the hard drive on the computer. they are checking everything out in his past and current past. one to make sure no one else is involved, that there is no other coconspirators. how did he get to this point, how did this happen? megyn: what can you say to the parents who have kids in school. you don't think about -- there are areas in this country where schools are near war zones and it's a tragedy and a story in itself. but most parent send their children to school and they don't worry about their safety. what do you say to them now? >> i can tell you as a co-chair with the terrorism task force in new york, being involved with dare america with police officers going into the schools

on a regular basis it's a matter of having that relationship as strong as it can be it's making sure the parents, the teachers, the school board, the police are all working in concert with one another. you do the best nuk terms of preventing a situation like this from occurring. megyn: most schools are safe. >> some schools have metal detectors. this was a nice lovely beautiful town where parents let their little children go to school in kindergarten and first grade to feel perfectly safe. megyn: like most towns and schools in america. most towns and schools in america choose to live as a free society and we won't have metal detectors where our 5-year-olds go in to learn the most basic lessons. so that's a decision we make.

but you have to have some line of security. here the days and weaks ahead will tell us what the failing was. that's not a judgmental thing. it's a let's learn from it. but it appears he was buds in when he shouldn't have been or piggy backed on somebody. somehow found a way in. do schools need to take this as an opportunity to revisit even the most basic security procedures they have in place? >> yes. one of the failures we have is we tend to think because we are in a safe neighborhood and we can get out of the city and go to new jersey or long island or connecticut or anywhere across our country where we are away from the big cities and away from the crime population that we have a sense of security. very often those are the areas where you need more security because you don't have the police officer on the corner with a weapon to be able to shoot this guy. no one was around with a weapon fast enough to kill him. megyn: do most schools have a

security officer. >> most schools have a security officer from the local dhoapt is assigned to the school. but he's not in the school all day. most of these small towns maybe have 8, 10, 15 police officers. they hardly have enough part time police officers to even do the dare program to teach kids about drugs and violence. it's not like you have a full-time police officer. the kids sometimes in the dare program will tell the dare officer their far it is violent, their mother is violent. they have a brother or uncle who is violent. you get information by communicating with the kids. megyn: this is looking like it wasn't the father of a student. he's only 20. we don't know. if this is some random shooting. he has some ties to the elementary school. if it's a random shooting how do you foresee that and plan

against it? >> it's hard. that's why you do the best in terms of the cctv and a system to let people into the school. you build perimeters outside the school. megyn: it's when your guard is down at something happens. >> it may change the way that we go fly on an airplane. this may be what it took for schools to wake up and change the way they conduct security. you don't get near that school without going through perimeter security. with a gait going up -- if he's dressed in combat gear and wearing a military-style vest and he has between 2-4 weapons. a .223 caliber rifle. no one is going to buzz him in if that's visible. the point you make about the police is an interesting one. i have two kids. now i want to see an armed police officer in the schools.

i never even thought about that trier to now. what would that take to have an armed police officer in every school? >> i think we just saw it. every town we deal with with the dare program, it has lost about a third of its teaching capability across the country because of budget cuts in local municipalities. it's a reality we live with. budgets are down in cities and towns across our country and they can't afford to have the programs. how are they going to afford to put a full-time police officer into the school? they will have to do the preventative programs we recommend for schools in terms of perimeter security. cctv. all that will have to be put into place. in addition you might have to have a security officer that doesn't have necessarily not a police officer but an armed security officer.

megyn: it could be something parent pay for. >> i think lit change the way we look at things. for schools this will be what 9/11 was for airports. megyn: i want to get to trace gallagher with breaking news. >> reporter: we just confirmed the shooter is identified. he is 20-year-old ryan lanza. we are trying to figure out. we have some pictures and identifications. we want to make sure we have the right guy before we put his picture up on the air. he's now the short and apparently according to other reports he lived in newtown, connecticut in fairfield county. because the other reports were police went to his home and reportedly found a bodynside that home that they are investigating the possibility the body may have been the mother of 20-year-old ryan lanza. we do know that in fact you can

see directly below me, this is a picture of 20-year-old ryan lanza. you said earlier he had a connection to the school. the school at 9:30 goes into lockdown. before you can get in the front door you have to be buds in. they can see what you look like then you give them a reason why you want to come in. if this guy was buds in, it's unclear. we are being told ryan lanza is 24 years old. this would change things. we were figuring out how would a 20-year-old have a connection to the school if he didn't work at the school. if you are 20 years old it's highly unlikely you would have a student who goes to the school. if he is 24 years old, maybe this is not someone who worked for or with the school. maybe this was a parent of a student at the school. we are trying to work all that

out. he was buzzed in through a new security system which apparently was just put in place a couple weeks ago but has been in place in much of fairfield county where you cannot get in the front door unless you are given clearance to get in the front door. megyn: stand by with me. i want to update our viewers. at sandy hook elementary school in newtown, connecticut just after 9:30 a.m. we believe this man, 24-year-old ryan lanza went into the school wearing combat gear, a full military-style vest and had between 2-4 weapons including a glock and a semi-automatic. we believe he found his way into one of the kindergarten classrooms. we are told an entire kindergarten class remains unaccounted for.

we are told 27 people are dead if you include the gunman. ryan lanza. of the 26 innocent victims. 18 are children. that is our information at this hour. there had been reports that over 100 shots were fired. we have not been able to confirm that. we don't know how many shots were fired. and the police say that the shooter is dead inside the classroom. we believe that the bodies of the victims remain inside the school as well as the police continue to process the crime scene and we are trying to get more information now on reports of a possible second suspect. keep in mind sometimes these things come down and they don't turn out to be anything. but we did learn earlier there is a house near the school in which a body had been found and there were early reports this person may have been related to ryan land today, perhaps his mother. back to trace now with more.

>> reporter: you are talking about more information about this short. we just read his facebook page and matched the picture. he is 24 years old. he lives in hoboken, new jersey. you heard rick leventhal talk about how police were searching a home in new jersey. he's from newtown, connecticut. his mom lived in newtown, connecticut. he lives in who broken, new jersey. was he a former student? what capacity does he have a connection to this elementary school and why was he buzzed in. that's the information we are getting. he's from newtown, connecticut but he lives currently or currently lived in who broken, new jersey. and that's why authorities are also in new jersey searching the home there. so the puzzle is getting a little bit more pieced together. but as you mention, other potential suspect or person of interest police are talking to.

we have gotten very little more information about what role he may or may not have played in any of this. megyn: i want to go to tony perkins who we happen to be fortunate enough to have with us today. he's the president of the family research council. what an important day for faith and what a challenge to it for those families. >> as a father of five kids my heart is broken for those families. as a former police officer that has been at crime scenes before i can only imagine the stress these officers will have in processing this crime scene. you are right, in times like these we see communities across the country turn to faith. churches open their doors, they reach south. it's part of the grieving process as this continues to unfold. many people will be trying to make sense of this and you can't. there are some things in life you simply cannot make sense out

of. this one of those senseless acts of violence. our staff in washington today -- we are gathering even in this hour praying for these families. most of us have kids. and every american is touched by a tragedy like this. megyn: the family research council was targeted not too long ago by a madman who shot the guard. he's okay now. >> he's back to work. megyn: you have bent victim of violence. dr. ablow was on earlier talking about the depravity and disconnection people feel from society. because we have become so obsessed with online and game or waste is. america looks very different thanked 30 years ago. we don't interact with each other the way we did 30 years ago. faith has been diminished as well. faith has been something that's

been a common thread in america that bound us to one another for so long. >> it has been a common thread and we find tonight times like these. in tragedies that's where we turn to. it's part of who we are as a people. innately we have a need to reach out. and it's only when we trust our creator. and those who have a relationship with christ or sense of spirituality, but as i come from the evangelical world, it helps us process this grief. megyn: it helps us look out for one another. you go to church just to bind with the community, to have that shared experience. it could be a concert. the shared experience of up and down and together and bond. but we need to have that bond. >> it keeps us account be as individuals. it keeps us connect candidate as a community.

and that's why -- it keeps us connected as a community. we see a callousness and coarseness of our society that is troubling to all of us. if i were to say religion would solve our problems, relationship won't solve our problems. having a relationship with christ, with the judeo christian world view, that makes sense for us individually. but as a society we moved away from that. and it is important that we bring that back in and not he can collude it from the public square. it is -- and not exclude it from the public square. who knows what motivated this guy to do this. but we need to be looking out for others and having a moral standard of what's acceptable and what's not. clearly this is not acceptable.

but how do we prevent tragedies like this from occurring again? megyn: a lot of people go to temple, they go to church on a day like this and look to connect with their fellow human becomes to remind themselves we are here together and we have this shared experience. for some of us there is a higher power that will help us through it. >> we should all be praying for these families today. as a favorit -- as a parent of a 5-year-old i can only tell you my heart is broken for them. megyn: we are going to take a quick break. we'll be back in moment with dr. keith ablow who earlier shared this message:those who lived this firsthand. the mothers and favorites and brothers and sisters of those 18 children. i don't know how you would wake up tomorrow and have your breakfast and function in this

world. >> that's the best thing, by the way you can tell them. that's what i would tell them this office. i cannot fathom the depth of your grief. i give you credit for your courage. i think somewhere out of your incredible wound could come extraordinary sensitivity such that you would be an incredible gift to other people in life. yet i hesitate to ask that of you knowing now how much you are suffering. yet i know that's possible for you. but i don't pretend to know everything you are feeling and i invite to you tell me, please tell me, because silence is the enemy of healing here. [ male announcer ] kids grow up in no time... marie callender's turkey breast with stuffing is a great reason to slow down. creamy mash potatoes, homestyle gravy and 320 calories. marie callender's. it's time to savor.

megyn: fox news alert. you can see the scene in newtown, connecticut as we have remained with the number of 26 dead. 277, including the gunman.

-- 27, including the gunman. there are reports from other news outthreats not independently confirmed by fox news that that the shooter may have been the son of the kindergarten class teacher. we are working to confirm that. please take it for what it's worth. two news outlets confirming that. we did hear earlier that the body of a woman had been found in a house nearby the school and she may have had ties to the shooter. we were told the shooter lived in hoboken, new jersey. we are doing our best not to get ahead of our skis on it so bear with us. ken, thanks for being here. something didn't go right here.

how can we learn from it? >> as you know, as a mother, i was standing on the play ground of my own children's school supervising elementary kids as this started break as a favorite volunteer. we know at elementary school levels very often when we see violence incidents arise, shootings or alter cases, they come from domestic situations between parents, non-custodial parents, or school employees. so as this news is unfolding what you just describe could possibly fit some of the things we have seen in the past. i want to say first my prayers going out to the families as a father, that parents need to across the nation are going to be asking questions at their children's school. they are doing so now even at my own school. i just got a text.

parents need to remember they should be sending their kids to school next week because this is the time where schools across the country will be safer because this is the forefront of our minds. what i want parents to know is we need to talk about school safety in the weeks, months and years ahead. as we looked a at budget cuts at school, focus on important things. test scores, financial issues. it's easier to school safety to fall to the back burner. you hit on something important earlier when you talked about or alluded to training our staff. we could have the locks on the doors, the buzzers, the intercoms. we have to train our school employees. we have to train our parents not to piggy back in when someone ahead of them goes in the door. we need to talk about situations in our families and share those as school employees with our employers if there is a risk and we need to be working with

age-appropriate levels with kids to have drills. we don't need to teach kindergarten kids to attack armed intruders and throw pencils at them and i don't think we need a metal detector at every door. but we need alert staff. we need to do our training. megyn: i was talking about this earlier with bob tstrang. should parents think about pooling their resources to pay for armed security guards? do we need them at schools to protect our kids? if an armed security guard had been on site could this man have unleashed the type of damage he did? >> we have school-based police officers. there is some civil rights and special interest groups have just this week been before

congress complaining about police officers in schools. and i think that we need to really take a look at the role of the officer. i support having school-based officers. megyn: my apologies. breaking news outside of the hospital. >> they gave limited information. they were talking about three patients who were brought here. but they would not go into particulars about who these people are. whether they are male or female, children or adult. they wouldn't say anything whatsoever. they saider in the process of notifying the families. and maybe they would end up having a news conference in the next half-hour to an hour or so. at that point they are still not saying whether they are going to be giving us any more information as far as the particulars of these people. however, we did hear that who these three people are. one is a teacher who was shot either in the foot or the leg. and the other two are children.

we were told or we are hearing that those injuries are not life-threatening. which is so good, that's such good news to hear about these three people considering the tragedy that this town and all of these poor families are dealing with. we have cameras set up here. you have the local reporters in connecticut as well as reporters from new york who came up. you can see all the cameras lined up there waiting to see whether there will be a news conference. the location where they have us -- we are on the campus of the hospital but we are at the medical arts center. megyn: the three victims -- we were told three victims were taken to the hospital in connecticut. we had precious little information on them. now, you heard it from our wnyw affiliate reporter that they are believed to be in a position to recover. their wound are not

life-threatening. that's a big relief in a day of unspeakable tragedy. ken, you were touching on the issue of armed guards in school and you a raise an interesting issue. some people have a real objection to that. i suppose the thought is do we want to have somebody with a loaded gun walking around our school campuses when it may not be necessary. when thank god in 99% of circumstances it's never necessary. >> one of the things we work hard at in training schools is to have a relationship with their local law enforcement. there are many school police officers assigned from local law enforcement county sheriff's detectives. state police officers, in some cases local police, who do work in our schools and most of them perform a preventative role. they build relationships with kids. they find out about these issues that start at home. things that may spill over into the school.

i think that one tool. trying to logistically put an officer in every elementary school would be an implementation challenge, financial challenge and i'm not sure if it's something we would be able to do in the short term. the first and best line of defense is a well-trained highly alert school staff and student body who has relationships with their mental health, police and community sponsors. we need mental detectors. we have people with mental health issues. it's not some real thing you can get your hand on that's concrete. we don't deal with that well in our society. megyn: if the last few years haven't proved that, i don't know what they proved. >> i have been in this business 25 years and i have a very strange feeling as i sit here talk with you today. as a favorite, send your kids to

school, talk with your school officials, don't panic. find out what they are doing. see how you can support. go out on the playground if you can and help supervise. that's worth a million dollars. megyn: i want to get to trace gallagher. we have breaking news on the shooter and his mother. >> reporter: the information we have is there is a possibility the shooter's mother may have been a teacher at the school. but then we went onto the web site of the school and the two kindergarten teachers don't sounds like it would be the mother. these are reports coming out of there. we have not confirmed them. there is a possibility the mother worked at the school. going on to kind of as we scan this, ryan lanza lived in hoboken, new jersey. he went to high school in newtown, connecticut. from newtown, connecticut. his mom lived in newtown, connecticut and apparently had

some connection to the school. he was a graduate of newtown high school. and police confirmed there was a body found in there. and it is a very strong possibility the body was the shooter's mother. we are now trying to get more information about what he did for work. megyn: just to jump in. our justice department sources are telling us that ryan lanza's mother nancy is presumed dead. that's what we are being told. his mother is being presumed dead. that she did work at that school where the shooting took place. but it's unclear if she was killed in the school or at her home. also being told his parents were divorced. it's possible the mother lived in connecticut, the father in new jersey. she is presumed dead. they don't know if she was killed in the school or her home. it earlier information was they found a body in the home near the school.

>> reporter: that's the information we have. there was a body found inside the home belong together mother in newtown, connecticut and she worked for the school. and the report went on to say the belief was that he targeted the mother first, then went and was targeting the students at the school. remember if you look at the chain of events. he was let through the door sometime between 9:30 and 9:40. went to the ad min stray tough office and opened fire during the morning announcements and attacked the principal and vice principal and psychologist. the nurse was in there. while the morning announcements were being made the rest of the school could hear the violence and gunfire over the school intercom. at that point apparently went to a classroom. we know a kindergarten class is unaccounted for. we don't know what classroom he went to. but he apparently went to a classroom and shot and killed 18 kid. the information we are getting is he apparently was going to the school to target the kids to

begin with. whether these were her students or former students, still have much unconfirmed. but we are working to find out much more information about 24-year-old ryan lanza. megyn: moment after we reported from the justice department and the "new york times," also reporting now that the alleged school gunman killed his mother who was a teacher at the school along with student and others. the story does appear to be getting more clear at this hour. though understanding it remains impossible. we are also just getting comments from a father on the scene who spoke about the horror that any parent would feel upon hearing their child's school has been targeted by a gunman. >> there is no words it's sheer terror, and a sense of immediate urgency, and, you know, to get to your child and to be into protect them.

because that's the immediate thing. is my child hurt? they are alone, they are not with me. how do i get to them. megyn: the parents were out there. you can imagine the panic. the full-body panic. you can see tonight some of the pictures. there was one mother i saw earlier, you could see her ringing her hands -- you could see her ringing her hands. there has to be a guiling feeling as well. forgive me i'm hearing president obama will make on camera comments on this coming up momentarily. i believe just after 3:00 p.m. eastern time the president will speak to this incredibly awful school shooting in connecticut that began today. we were hoping there were initial reports on another channel that no children were

injured. no reports of children injured it read. now we know the truth is very, very different. want to get back to dr. kiet ablow. -- dr. keith ablow. those dual feelings of thank god it wasn't my child, then the awful guilt or i don't know what the world is when you realize you are feeling he late as other parents are mourning the death of their 5-year-old who died at at hand of a gunman who gunned them down like they were nothing. >> the ran document and cruel nature of this kind of act complicates things psychologically even for the survivors who will need help later on to try to put this in some kind of perspective. because i worked with people again and again for whom either having a tragedy visit or having survived sit, when a sibling is

stricken with cancer. having not been the one to get sick leads them to feel unsafe. the randomness of it. unfairness of it. the fact that is there not a lot you as an individual can do to protect yourself from it makes people visit their own mortality and that fine thread from which we all hang. earlier than you had hoped. hasn't what these kids are contending with. these will be forever special children perhaps, capable of extraordinary bravery or ema any but also vulnerable in a special way. megyn: your thoughts on what we are hear being this act pat we believe this gunman killed his mother. we believe in the house outside of the school. and it appears he may have killed his mother who are was a teacher in this school. >> my thoughts are this. as more facts come in, this will

likely be another story where you say, well, the unthinkable and inexplicable now is fathomable. we can see the train coming down the tracks. the awful collision coming and sadly spectators by the railway who felt disempowered or didn't file was their place to intervene or even a therapist who didn't think it was time to pull the trigger and hospitalize this person, i think right now this can be sadly a laboratory where we look and say what could have been done. if it's nothing, fine. but it is likely there will be things that could have been done. i can't tell you how many of my colleagues -- i don't mean to call anybody out here -- but in the mental healthcare system i sometimes make strange calls to e.r.s where i will say you have got to hospitalize this

person he was in my office an says he wants to kill somebody. you will hear back from a clinician, well, he's not saying that now. i said now he's in the e.r. and he's saying that to leave. they say he's contracting for safety and the insurance company says they won't pay now. so we have so much fixing to do. megyn: what's it going to take? 32 dead at virginia tech just a couple years ago and we didn't revamp' the mental health system. now you have 18 dead kids. is this enough? >> i don't know if it's enough because there is so much stigma attached to the mental healthcare system. there is so much receipt sense h retiscence. we have some to empower people

to give treatment to those to don't want treatment. megyn: fox news confirming ryan lanza, that his father was also killed in his home in new jersey. this is in addition to his mother being found dead in connecticut. >> these stories in my experience as a forensic psychiatrist, the strangers who pay the toll are paying it for intensely personal dramas. connected usually to incredibly intense psychological conflicts between individuals who are very close to each other. we see it again and again. people kill because there is a spouse at sods with his wife who -- spouse at odds with his wife. megyn: i know you can't answer this but i have to try. i think we are all trying. then what makes you kill a kindergarten full of babies. >> the terrible sense that you

are disempowered and you are spiritually dead makes you create in the world an awful canvas representing your interior world. that's not always the case, but that is one way to see this. that you project the fragmented nature of your internal world. the fact that you feel decimated. you create a symbol of that. an awful, terrible monstrous symbol of it that this will be your legacy. that you have finally spoken and shown everyone what you have been feeling inside. that's the terrible, awful truth. megyn: the shooter is 24 years old. the shooter at the mall shooting in oregon was 22 years old. these are young guys. you mentioned how people lose themselves in certain online activity, game, what have you. i don't know what the background was with these guys.

but it doesn't seem totally coincidentally that they are both in their young 20s and young men. >> i think we have to look at the forces that empower people to get some knowledge through the internet. but there are a lot of dehumanizing forces that come with that. reality tv is no friend of preventing such things. facebook is no friend of preventing such things i have to say. and i think we are at a time again and we mentioned this earlier. we pushed the red line of the unthinkable into kindergarten classrooms. we have got to dial it back. we have got to show a big response here of grief, empathy, outreach to balance the monstrousity of this. that's some kind of insulation against someone saying i think that my forum. that's where i'm going to express myself. how fractured i feel is going to be seen in the blood on the floor of this classroom.

megyn: thank you so much for helping us. we appreciate you being here. i want to bring you this sad update as well. the number of children killed has now been increased to 20. 20 children dead. five adult dead and the short. 26 dead, 20 of them children. the law enforcement community has not independently confirmed these are kindergarteners. that is our belief based other reporting. one father said his on was in class when the gunman burst in and shot the teacher. he grabbed a bunch of of his friend and ran. the shooter did not say a word. president obama will speak to the nation at 3:15 p.m. eastern time. we appreciate you being with us on this important news day. we'll get through it together. then we'll figure it out

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